Drying mode for automatic clothes dryer

• US 7,594,343 B2
• Filed: 02/14/2006
• Issued: 09/29/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
• Original Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
• Inventors: Reck, Andrew Charles, Woerdehoff, Christopher John, Swanson, James Frederick, Kmet, David John
• Primary Examiner(s): GRAVINI, STEPHEN MICHAEL
• Application Number:
  US11/353,330
• Publication Number:
  US 20070186438A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,323 Days
• Field of Search: 344/86, 344/91, 345/52, 345/27, 346/01, 346/07, 345/72, 343/81, 345/54, 345/62, 68/20, 307/34, 219/497, 392/496, 324/664
• US Class Current: 34/491
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2101/00 User input for the control of domestic laundry washing machines, washer-dryers or laundry dryers
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2103/32 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2103/34 Humidity
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2103/38 Time, e.g. duration
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2105/28 Electric heating
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2105/56 Remaining operation time; Remaining operational cycles
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 58/46 Control of the operating time

Abstract

A method of drying clothes in a clothes dryer comprising a clothes chamber for receiving clothes, an air supply system for directing air through the clothes chamber, and a heater for heating the air supplied by the air supply system. The method comprises cycling the heater between an ON state by energizing the heater until a heater trip condition is met and an OFF state by deenergizing the heater until a heater reset condition is met, determining a heater off time by determining the time between the heater trip condition and the heater reset condition, and determining a drying time based on the heater off time.

Claims

1. A method of drying clothes in a clothes dryer comprising a clothes chamber for receiving clothes, an air supply system for directing air through the clothes chamber, and a heater for heating the air supplied by the air supply system, the method comprising:

energizing the heater between a lower limit trip point temperature and an upper limit trip point temperature, which is higher than the lower limit trip point temperature, to define an ON state, with the lower limit trip point temperature defining a heater reset condition and the upper limit trip point temperature defining a heater trip condition;

deenergizing the heater between the upper limit trip point temperature and the lower limit trip point temperature to define an OFF state;

cycling the heater between the ON state and the OFF state to supply heat to the clothes chamber;

determining a heater off time corresponding to the duration of the heater in the OFF state by determining the time between the heater trip condition and the heater reset condition; and

calculating a drying time based on the heater off time.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the calculating of the drying time comprises calculating an ADD ON drying time based on the heater OFF time.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the calculating of the drying time based on the heater OFF time is only done in the absence of meaningful moisture data regarding the clothes.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein meaningful moisture data is determined by the number of wet hits generated by a moisture sensor in the clothes chamber.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the calculating of the drying time comprises comparing the heater OFF time to a predetermined heater OFF time.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the predetermined heater OFF time is representative of a user-selected drying cycle parameter.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein the comparing of the heater OFF time to the predetermined heater OFF time comprises determining a ratio of the predetermined heater OFF time to the heater OFF time.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the calculating of the drying time comprises determining a thermal cycle period and then calculating a product of the ratio and the thermal cycle period.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the determining of the thermal cycle period comprises determining the lapse of time between sequential heater trip conditions or heater reset conditions.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein the determining of the heater OFF time is determined at the second cycle of the heater from the heater trip condition to the heater reset condition.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the calculating of the drying time comprises determining an accumulated heater OFF time representing the time that the heater is in the OFF state prior to the second cycle and subtracting the accumulated heater OFF time from the product.

12. A method of drying clothes in a clothes dryer comprising a clothes chamber for receiving clothes, an air supply system for directing air through the clothes chamber, and a heater for heating the air supplied by the air supply system, the method comprising:

energizing the heater between a lower limit trip point temperature and an upper limit trip point temperature, which is higher than the lower limit trip point temperature, to define an ON state, with the lower limit trip point temperature defining a heater reset condition and the upper limit trip point temperature defining a heater trip condition;

deenergizing the heater between the upper limit trip point temperature and the lower limit trip point temperature to define an OFF state;

cycling the heater between the ON state and the OFF state to supply heat to the clothes chamber;

determining a heater off time by determining the duration of the heater in the OFF state;

calculating an ADD ON drying time based on the heater off time; and

operating the clothes dryer for a cool down time subsequent to the ADD ON drying time.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the calculating of the ADD ON drying time based on the duration of the OFF state is only done in the absence of meaningful moisture data regarding the clothes.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein meaningful moisture data is determined by the number of wet hits generated by a moisture sensor in the clothes chamber.

15. The method according to claim 12, wherein the calculating of the ADD ON drying time comprises comparing the duration of the OFF state to a predetermined heater OFF time.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the predetermined heater OFF time is representative of a user-selected drying cycle parameter.

17. The method according to claim 15, wherein the comparing of the duration of the OFF state to the predetermined heater OFF time comprises determining a ratio of the predetermined heater OFF time to the duration of the OFF state.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the calculating of the ADD ON drying time comprises determining a thermal cycle period and then calculating a product of the ratio and the thermal cycle period.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the determining of the thermal cycle period comprises determining the lapse of time between sequential heater trip conditions or heater reset conditions.

20. The method according to claim 18, wherein the determining of the duration of the OFF state is determined at the second heater energizing/deenergizing cycle from the heater trip condition to the heater reset condition.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the calculating of the drying time comprises determining an accumulated heater OFF time representing the time that the heater is in the OFF state prior to the second heater energizing/deenergizing cycle and subtracting the accumulated heater OFF time from the product.

22. A method of drying clothes in a clothes dryer comprising a clothes chamber for receiving clothes, an air supply system for directing air through the clothes chamber, and a heater for heating the air supplied by the air supply system, the method comprising:

energizing the heater between a lower limit trip point temperature and an upper limit trip point temperature, which is higher than the lower limit trip point temperature, to define an ON state, with the lower limit trip point temperature defining a heater reset condition and the upper limit trip point temperature defining a heater trip condition;

deenergizing the heater between the upper limit trip point temperature and the lower limit trip point temperature to define an OFF state;

cycling the heater between the ON state and the OFF state to supply heat to the clothes chamber;

determining a heater off time by determining a length of time of the heater in the OFF state;

calculating an ADD ON drying time based on the heater off time; and

operating the clothes dryer for a cool down time subsequent to the ADD ON drying time.